Twelve bodies were recovered after a boat with scores of Rohingyas on board capsized at the mouth of the Naf river that divides Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Law enforcement officials have recovered the bodies, which were floating in the Bay of Bengal near Shah Porir Island of Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district which is now home to nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

The officials feared the death toll will rise, as some of the 11 rescued Rohingyas claimed some people are still missing.

He said a search operation is underway.

Violence erupted in Rakhine in late August when Rohingya militants attacked security posts, triggering a military response.

More than half a million Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority who are widely disliked in Myanmar and denied citizenship, have fled to Bangladesh since then.